Saturday, February 10, 2018

Heartbeat

I’ve got a broken heart this year for Valentine’s Day. Don’t feel too bad for me, though - I’m only
talking about a puzzle box. Last year
for your amorous amusement I featured what might have been the perfect pairing
of love potion and puzzle, the Valentine’s Day Box by Tatsuo Miyamoto and the
Heart Shaped Box by Brad Farran. It
really can’t get any more perfect than that.
I even created one of my most adorable citrus peel garnish creations
ever, a lemon orange and lime cupid perched on a strawberry. I was trying to make up for being so cynical
the year before that, when I explored the gruesome origins of Valentine’s Day
and even deconstructed things down to a mathematical formula. Sigh, those were good times. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far
away.

Secret Heart by Tatsuo Miyamoto

But here I am, with a broken box. Okay fine, it’s just in two pieces. It’s not really broken. I was just setting things up cleverly. We have Karakuri Creation Group artist Tatsuo
Miyamoto to thank once again for this nostalgic trip down memory lane on
Valentine’s Day. He’s a rather romantic
fellow, and has created a number of heart-themed boxes. Love should be simple, and obvious. You should know it when you see it, or feel
it. The two halves of this heart come
together naturally, as easy as falling in love. Inside one half is a music box, which plays a
wistful tune when properly activated. Perhaps
you can hear it, somehow? Now I need a
place to hide away … and the other half provides that nicely. You’ll have this box opening its heart to you
in no time.

I'm not half the man I used to be ...

I’m a creature of habit, so the pairing for this secret
heart once again comes from the wonderful Death and Company Modern Classics
book. Death and company was the term
applied to those desperate souls who drank during the dark days of prohibition,
and was adopted as the name of one of the more influential bars in New York
City. Also invented by Brad Farran, the
creator of the Heart Shaped Box cocktail, this year’s tasty tipple features
tequila, which is sure to make your heart beat faster. The drink is based on the classic Manhattan,
which combines rye and sweet vermouth, but swaps the rye for a finely aged tequila
instead. Farran then gives the drink a
little tickle, with the addition of a his “Tickle Juice”, a combination of crème
de cacao chocolate liqueur and Cynar, the deliciously herbal Italian amaro,
which finds its way into a number of Death & Co. creations. Be careful, this is another potent love
potion that might make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Te Amo by Brad Farran

Te Amo by Brad Farran

2 oz anejo tequila (e.g. El Tesoro)

¾ oz sweet vermouth (e.g Cocchi Di Torino)

2 tsps crème de cacao
(e.g. Marie Brizard white)

1 tsp Cynar

1 dash orange bitters

1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters

1 dash Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Shrub

Stir ingredients together with ice and strain into a favorite
glass. Garnish with an orange peel or
something heart-felt.